Narrator: John E. Curran
God damn, it I did it again. Today is March 19th, 2001. My name is John E. Curran. I am at 9076 Cattail Lane, West Chester, Ohio, 45069. I was born on October 25th , 1917. I was 17 years old when I entered the CCC in January 1935. I served at YNP-5 at Nez Perce Creek. Immediate family were all born in the United States; Mother, Father, and two brothers. Grandparents were of Irish and German descent. My highest grade level was 10th grade.
I have no recollection of when I first learned of the CCC. All I remember was my dad taking me to a local welfare agency to sign up. We had no say in where we would go. I guess we were assigned camp by their need for replacements. I recall hearing about being assigned to Yellowstone in April of 1936.
When I first joined the CCC we were sent to Fort Knox, Kentucky, for about a week--physical check-up, shots, and indoctrination of sorts. Next stop was Company 534 Athens, Ohio. We stayed there for about one year. We were under the forestry department. Camp numbers were PE82 and F7. From Camp Athens, it was a train ride to Idaho Falls, Idaho, and a truck ride to Camp Heise F405 at Heise, Idaho. At Heise, I worked as pick and shovel man on the road, blacksmith's helper, and truck driver.
We arrived at YNP-5 in the daytime in the rain and most trucks got stuck in the mud on the service road that lead from the main highway to the campsite. It must have been used before because it was all set up when we arrived. Some of us were apprehensive of the bears that were lingering around, but figured it would be one great place to see when the mud and the snow were gone.
We were quartered in tents. Inside consisted of four or six bunks and a cone shaped stove in the center. Camp was laid out like a quad; tents on all four sides. The center was all trees which small bears frequently frequented. The smaller bears would climb the trees and us crazy people would climb up another one several feet away from them. We had our own mess hall, a solid building, place to shower and work clothes--wash clothes--a combination rec hall and library. We had ping-pong tables and baseball diamonds across the creek from the camp. We had two first aide tents. Actually they were half wood and half canvas.
My official job was listed as axe man, timberwork. I did hack a few trees down. We worked on the Howard Eaton Trail and spent countless hours cutting wood for Old Faithful Inn. Total stretch of fence along the western boundary and erected new flagpole at the West Entrance.
We had several park personnel, rangers and supervisors. They were instructors and watchdogs of the sort. They made sure that everything was according to YNP regulations.
I had several close friends in the park. Ira J. Hoffinan was the assistant to Andy Anderson the educational advisor. Ira was from Germantown, Ohio, close to Dayton. Forest Stout from Norwalk, Ohio. Joe Dennis from Missouri. John Lolly from Nicholasville, Kentucky. Some were from Cleveland and Toledo and other towns in northern Ohio. Some were from Cincinnati, the Dayton area: Joe Akotis, Carl Brash, and a couple more, but I don't remember their hometowns. Joe Gronic, Steve Ronyits, John Forbes from Nelsonville.
I liked the work, while sometimes boring and repetitious. It was something to do and it was beneficial to the park and to the visitor.
In our off hours, we played baseball among ourselves or with teams from the camp at Gardiner and Canyon. I personally never went to West Yellowstone. Lack of money was the prime reason. We made trips to Old Faithful, to Gardiner, to Yellowstone Lake, and Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. While there weren't many cameras in camp, we took lots for pictures and swapped them. The food must have been ok, no one lost weight. The only holidays we spent in the park were Fourth of July and Labor Day and they didn't warrant anything special.
We did see bears and elk and deer but I don't really recall anything out of the ordinary. One time, though, we came upon a herd of deer and as they scattered a fawn separated from its mother and went to a fallen log and hid. If I hadn't seen where she went, I wouldn't have seen her. I did get close enough for a picture. Other than that, I didn't disturb her.
I was fortunate enough that I went, that I wasn't called on, to fight fires or any rescue attempts. During my stay in a CCC I had one Letter of Merit from Superintendent Harvey Glick in Heise, Idaho, as a truck driver, even though I almost ran over him out on a job. Some were certificates for correspondence courses in forestry, conservation, and auto mechanics and diesel mechanics.
No actual skills that helped me in my work after the CCC. I did learn discipline, punctuality, and cooperation with fellow workers. I was not in a CCC when World War II started. I was married and working in a defense plant.
I went back to Yellowstone with my wife and a couple of the kids. We didn't get to see the camp. There was a gate designed—designated--as a service road. Instead of a sedate drive around the park, I thought I was on an interchange on the freeway. Boy, what a difference. I'm all for a park and ride, a tour bus.
A couple of stories, not funny at the time: It was the end of June and Captain Smith made the announcement that July would be safety month and guess who was the first casualty--good old John. The very first day of July we were out behind the camp gathering firewood and I was splitting a small log. While holding the log upright with my left hand, I hit the left index finger; went in the top and out the bottom. I walked back to camp and looked for the first aide man and the doctor. I must have fainted. When I woke up, I was lying on a table and the doctor was preparing to shoot me with a shot of Novocain to deaden the pain. That needle hurt worse than anything else; took thirteen stitches to hold it together again. Captain Smith wanted to shoot me but he had his service revolver in mind. No bad after effects, no stiffness. was playing baseball again in late August. Nice work, Doc--Doctor Burton L. Forbes. He was with us in Heise, Yellowstone, and Rupert, Idaho.
The other foresaid event was something that shouldn't have happened but did. Not everyone did the dumb trip but some of us did. We had a hot pool not far from the creek where we went to wash clothes. We had a wire basket that we used to swish around and up and down similar to a washing machine agitator. Well, Woody and Smitty were doing this thing when Woody fell in. Smitty, who was about half Woody's size, pulled him out and ran for help. Woody's left leg was scalded to the hip. He was rushed to the hospital in Bozeman, Montana. We heard that he eventually wound up in Walter Reed Hospital. That's the last I heard about it.
Not much else happened worth mentioning. As soon as the snow started to fall in October we were making plans to decamp. All in all, the few months we were there was very educational and warranted a return visit. I guess most of them did. I know I did and that's about it.
As an afterthought, if you can get a copy of the Pocatello Chieftain it has pictures and names of all the camps in the Pocatello district. I had one, but I donated it to the CCC museum years ago. If you could borrow it, it would be invaluable. Or, better yet, write the monthly paper and ask them to print a request for a copy. It's a hardcover book so it would be a hard job to run off on a copy machine. I do hope these ramblings will be of some benefit to your efforts and good luck.
John E. Curran CC5104854

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John E. Curran enrolled in the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), serving in Company #534 stationed at the Nez Perce Camp (YNP-5). In his interview, he recalls working as a timberman, clearing the Howard Eaton Trail and cutting wood for the Old Faithful Inn. He also recalls the workings of the camp; playing baseball; and several accidents in camp, including his own. The narrator self-interviewed by recording his responses to a list of written questions.

Transferred from audio cassette using TEAC recorder/player. Edited for clarity using Audacity software.

Date Digitized

2017

Transcript

Narrator: John E. Curran
God damn, it I did it again. Today is March 19th, 2001. My name is John E. Curran. I am at 9076 Cattail Lane, West Chester, Ohio, 45069. I was born on October 25th , 1917. I was 17 years old when I entered the CCC in January 1935. I served at YNP-5 at Nez Perce Creek. Immediate family were all born in the United States; Mother, Father, and two brothers. Grandparents were of Irish and German descent. My highest grade level was 10th grade.
I have no recollection of when I first learned of the CCC. All I remember was my dad taking me to a local welfare agency to sign up. We had no say in where we would go. I guess we were assigned camp by their need for replacements. I recall hearing about being assigned to Yellowstone in April of 1936.
When I first joined the CCC we were sent to Fort Knox, Kentucky, for about a week--physical check-up, shots, and indoctrination of sorts. Next stop was Company 534 Athens, Ohio. We stayed there for about one year. We were under the forestry department. Camp numbers were PE82 and F7. From Camp Athens, it was a train ride to Idaho Falls, Idaho, and a truck ride to Camp Heise F405 at Heise, Idaho. At Heise, I worked as pick and shovel man on the road, blacksmith's helper, and truck driver.
We arrived at YNP-5 in the daytime in the rain and most trucks got stuck in the mud on the service road that lead from the main highway to the campsite. It must have been used before because it was all set up when we arrived. Some of us were apprehensive of the bears that were lingering around, but figured it would be one great place to see when the mud and the snow were gone.
We were quartered in tents. Inside consisted of four or six bunks and a cone shaped stove in the center. Camp was laid out like a quad; tents on all four sides. The center was all trees which small bears frequently frequented. The smaller bears would climb the trees and us crazy people would climb up another one several feet away from them. We had our own mess hall, a solid building, place to shower and work clothes--wash clothes--a combination rec hall and library. We had ping-pong tables and baseball diamonds across the creek from the camp. We had two first aide tents. Actually they were half wood and half canvas.
My official job was listed as axe man, timberwork. I did hack a few trees down. We worked on the Howard Eaton Trail and spent countless hours cutting wood for Old Faithful Inn. Total stretch of fence along the western boundary and erected new flagpole at the West Entrance.
We had several park personnel, rangers and supervisors. They were instructors and watchdogs of the sort. They made sure that everything was according to YNP regulations.
I had several close friends in the park. Ira J. Hoffinan was the assistant to Andy Anderson the educational advisor. Ira was from Germantown, Ohio, close to Dayton. Forest Stout from Norwalk, Ohio. Joe Dennis from Missouri. John Lolly from Nicholasville, Kentucky. Some were from Cleveland and Toledo and other towns in northern Ohio. Some were from Cincinnati, the Dayton area: Joe Akotis, Carl Brash, and a couple more, but I don't remember their hometowns. Joe Gronic, Steve Ronyits, John Forbes from Nelsonville.
I liked the work, while sometimes boring and repetitious. It was something to do and it was beneficial to the park and to the visitor.
In our off hours, we played baseball among ourselves or with teams from the camp at Gardiner and Canyon. I personally never went to West Yellowstone. Lack of money was the prime reason. We made trips to Old Faithful, to Gardiner, to Yellowstone Lake, and Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. While there weren't many cameras in camp, we took lots for pictures and swapped them. The food must have been ok, no one lost weight. The only holidays we spent in the park were Fourth of July and Labor Day and they didn't warrant anything special.
We did see bears and elk and deer but I don't really recall anything out of the ordinary. One time, though, we came upon a herd of deer and as they scattered a fawn separated from its mother and went to a fallen log and hid. If I hadn't seen where she went, I wouldn't have seen her. I did get close enough for a picture. Other than that, I didn't disturb her.
I was fortunate enough that I went, that I wasn't called on, to fight fires or any rescue attempts. During my stay in a CCC I had one Letter of Merit from Superintendent Harvey Glick in Heise, Idaho, as a truck driver, even though I almost ran over him out on a job. Some were certificates for correspondence courses in forestry, conservation, and auto mechanics and diesel mechanics.
No actual skills that helped me in my work after the CCC. I did learn discipline, punctuality, and cooperation with fellow workers. I was not in a CCC when World War II started. I was married and working in a defense plant.
I went back to Yellowstone with my wife and a couple of the kids. We didn't get to see the camp. There was a gate designed—designated--as a service road. Instead of a sedate drive around the park, I thought I was on an interchange on the freeway. Boy, what a difference. I'm all for a park and ride, a tour bus.
A couple of stories, not funny at the time: It was the end of June and Captain Smith made the announcement that July would be safety month and guess who was the first casualty--good old John. The very first day of July we were out behind the camp gathering firewood and I was splitting a small log. While holding the log upright with my left hand, I hit the left index finger; went in the top and out the bottom. I walked back to camp and looked for the first aide man and the doctor. I must have fainted. When I woke up, I was lying on a table and the doctor was preparing to shoot me with a shot of Novocain to deaden the pain. That needle hurt worse than anything else; took thirteen stitches to hold it together again. Captain Smith wanted to shoot me but he had his service revolver in mind. No bad after effects, no stiffness. was playing baseball again in late August. Nice work, Doc--Doctor Burton L. Forbes. He was with us in Heise, Yellowstone, and Rupert, Idaho.
The other foresaid event was something that shouldn't have happened but did. Not everyone did the dumb trip but some of us did. We had a hot pool not far from the creek where we went to wash clothes. We had a wire basket that we used to swish around and up and down similar to a washing machine agitator. Well, Woody and Smitty were doing this thing when Woody fell in. Smitty, who was about half Woody's size, pulled him out and ran for help. Woody's left leg was scalded to the hip. He was rushed to the hospital in Bozeman, Montana. We heard that he eventually wound up in Walter Reed Hospital. That's the last I heard about it.
Not much else happened worth mentioning. As soon as the snow started to fall in October we were making plans to decamp. All in all, the few months we were there was very educational and warranted a return visit. I guess most of them did. I know I did and that's about it.
As an afterthought, if you can get a copy of the Pocatello Chieftain it has pictures and names of all the camps in the Pocatello district. I had one, but I donated it to the CCC museum years ago. If you could borrow it, it would be invaluable. Or, better yet, write the monthly paper and ask them to print a request for a copy. It's a hardcover book so it would be a hard job to run off on a copy machine. I do hope these ramblings will be of some benefit to your efforts and good luck.
John E. Curran CC5104854